Max Planck Encyclopedia on European Private Law released

The creation of a private law applicable for all Member States of the European Union represents one of the most significant developments of our time. The legislature of the EU has, however, primarily limited itself to short-term considerations driven by the politics of the day. The framework of regulations that has been promulgated in the past two decades is, as a result, fragmentary and has failed to follow an over-arching systematic approach. Responding to this development, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law published in 2009 the Handwörterbuch des Europäischen Privatrechts. Now, the Oxford University Press has released the Max Planck Encyclopedia of European Private Law. More than merely a translation, it stands as an independent work tailored to the varying legal backgrounds of international readers. Consistent with the format of an encyclopedia, the core of the work is comprised by the approximately 500 keyword entries which are presented alphabetically. Yet on account of the complexity of the material, the Encyclopedia offers far more information than a simple dictionary. With an editorial focus on the foundational content and principles of European private law, the work may serve to orient scholarship and legal practice within the context of the legal unification increasingly pursued by the European legislator. The work has been edited by Institute Director Jürgen Basedow, Institute Director  Reinhard Zimmermann and former Institute Director Klaus J. Hopt, with Andreas. The authors of the keyword entries are primarily current or former fellows of the Institute but include also a number of external scholars having a close and special affinity to the Institute.

More information is available on the publisher’s website.